Yes, that title is deceiving, but I can’t say its a lie either.
(But given Chan’s history with Mandopop and Cantopop would you really be surprised?)

But here’s the truth a new K-Pop group has debuted, this one made up of 5 boys- their name is JJCC (Double JC) and they were formed and managed by ….Jackie Chan. See!! Jackie Chan does K-Pop!
I heard about this group’s imminent debut a few months ago when I first read about Jackie Chan forming a K-Pop group and in all honesty I didn’t take it to heart, I didn’t know what to expect- but JJCC debuted on March 20th of this year with their song and MV At First. So Jackie Chan is doing K-Pop to a certain extent…

The quality of the song is perfectly fine, but if I’m going to be 100% honest it’s not really my taste. To me there really isn’t a catchy hook at all, the chorus is good enough but I don’t think I’ll catch myself singing it in the coming days; and there was just so much of it – it is rather repetitive. I kept waiting for something different. The verses and the bridge tried to deliver but they are pretty much all sub-par rap; the rhythm stays too close to home and never gives the listener anything else to excite the ear. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some rap breakdowns in my K-Pop but this just wasn’t there in my opinion. As rap in K-Pop is getting stronger new groups that debut need to be just as powerful if not more, and this just wasn’t there. Frankly this didn’t feel like a pop song to me…it was a basic rap song with a rhythmic chorus and pop breakdown bridge. All in all I think it was just lacking in something. By current standards and by what I see in K-Pop today this is a weak debut.

I’m not going to say these guys aren’t talented though! They definitely are. You don’t get to debut in this industry without some little bit of talent at least, and they do have that! Each of them brings something to the table. In typical K-Pop fashion some bring the faces and some bring the voices…but as a whole they do have talent.
JJCC is made up of 5 young men in their 20’s-

Each of which, from what I can tell has their own qualities, aside from a couple of silly stage names (I mean Simba…really? I love The Lion King as much as the next person but really?… okay) they seem to work well as a unit. A credit I think I’m going to give to the Korean Entertainment method of training…you don’t spend years in training together and not learn how to work well together when you are forced to be together all the time as a trainee. JJCC trained for a couple of years at Jackie Chan’s Korean company before their debut with member Prince Mak joining just a few months prior to debut.

I guess all I can say is that as far as a debut song goes At First kind of bores me and I can say the same thing for their live debut stage on M! Countdown. From the choreography to the constant repetitive song, it was a yawn for me. But take a look for yourself:

I don’t want to come down too hard on JJCC at all because truly this is a debut song and groups do nothing but evolve if they have the proper backing. With Jackie Chan’s support and the fandom that is already emerging for them I think they can and will emerge strong and I look forward to seeing what they present next. Plus my opinion is really just that, mine! This song apparently shot to #1 in China after it was released, and Jackie Chan has said he wants the group to be International Stars so already they are on their way.
But as it stands At First is not my taste…but who knows what could happen depending on what they release in the future.

That’s all for now.